Sialkot District is a district within the Gujranwala Division of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in northeastern Punjab, the city of Sialkot is the headquarters of the district. It houses the Sialkot Cantonment, established in 1852.
Administration The district is administratively divided into the following four tehsils (subdivisions), which contain a total of 122 Union Councils: #TehsilArea (km²)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km²)
(2023)Lit. rate (2023)Union Councils1Pasrur975970,366995.2574.52%282Daska690980,5471,421.0879.19%423Sambrial450460,2801,022.8479.89%304Sialkot9012,088,2012,317.6579.42%52
History Sialkot District was an agricultural region with forests during the Indus Valley Civilization. The Vedic period is characterized by Indo-Aryan culture that flourished in the Punjab region. The Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas and Kurus invaded, settled and ruled the ancient Punjab region. After overrunning the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BCE, Alexander marched into the present-day Punjab region with an army of 50,000. The Sialkot was ruled by Maurya Empire, the Indo-Greek kingdom, Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, White Huns, Kushano-Hephthalites, the Arabs and Hindu Shahi kingdoms.
In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005 CE and followed this by the conquests of the Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region.
At an early date the District fell to the Mughal Empire, and under the Mughals formed the Rechna Doab sarkar of the Subah of Lahore. Under Shah Jahan the sarkar was entrusted to Ali Mardan Khan, the famous engineer, who dug a canal through it to bring water from the Chenab river to the imperial gardens in Lahore.
On the decline of the Mughal Empire Ranjit Singh Deo, a Rajput hill chief, extended his sway over the lowlands, owning a nominal allegiance to Delhi. In 1748 he transferred his allegiance to Ahmad Shah Durrani, who added Zafarwal and two other parganas to his fief. Before his death in 1773 Ranjit Deo had secured possession of the whole District, except the Sialkot town and its dependencies, which were held by a Pashtun family. Sialkot district was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the station was denuded of British troops; and the Native regiments which were left behind the rose, and, after sacking the jail, treasury, and courthouse, and massacring several of the European inhabitants, marched off towards Delhi, only to be destroyed by Nicholson at Trimmu Ghat. The rest of the Europeans took refuge in the fort, and on the morning after the departure of the rebels order was restored. The only events of interest in the subsequent history of the District are the plague riots that occurred at the villages of Shahzada and Sankhatra in 1901.
Numerous mounds are scattered about the District, which marks the sites of ancient villages and towns. None of them, except that on which the Sialkot fort stood, has been excavated, but silver and copper utensils and coins have been dug up from time to time by villagers. Most of the coins are those of Indo-Bactrian kings. The excavations in Sialkot revealed the existence of some old baths, with hot-water pipes of solid masonry. The fort itself, of which very little now remains, is not more than 1,000 years old and is said to have been rebuilt by Shahab-ud-din Ghori at the end of the twelfth century.
In 1859, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Sialkot were placed in the new division of Sialkot. But in 1884, Gurdaspur along with Amritsar again became a part of the Lahore Division.
According to the 1901 census, the district had a population of 1,083,909 and contained 7 towns and 2,348 villages. The population at the previous three enumerations was: 1,004,695 (1868), 1,012,148 (1881) and 1,119,847 (1891). The population decreased between 1891 and 1901 by 3.2, the decrease being greatest in the Raya tahsil and least in the Daska tahsil. The Chenab Colony was responsible for this fall in population, with no less than 103,000 persons having left to take land in the newly irrigated tracts.
The district was subdivided into five tehsils, namely: Sialkot, Pasrur, Zafarwal, Raya and Daska, the headquarters of each being at the place from which it is named. The chief towns of the district were Sialkot, Daska, Jamki, Pasrur, Kila Sobha Singh, Zafarwal and Narowal.
Tehsil Area (sq mi) Towns Villages Population (1901) Population per sq mi Population variation 1891–1901 Number of literate people Sialkot 428 1 637 312,668 730.5 +3.2 12,101 Pasrur 394 2 443 193,746 491.7 −5.0 5,601 Sambrial 485 1 456 192,440 396.8 +10.4 5,586 Daska 360 2 332 206,148 572.6 −0.6 4,103 Total 1,991 7 2,348 1,083,909 544.4 −3.2 31,341
In 1930, the tehsils of Raya, Daska and Pasrur were split up and parts of these were amalgamated into Gujranwala District. In 1991, the tehsils of Narowal and Shakar Garh (which was tehsil Shankar Garh of Gurdaspur district before the independence of Pakistan in 1947) were split up and formed into the new Narowal District.
Geography Sialkot District lies southeast of Gujrat District, southwest of Jammu district (in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir), while Narowal District is to the southeast and Gujranwala District is situated to the west. Sialkot district is spread over an area of 3,016 square kilometers. Sialkot is hot and humid during the summer and cold during the winter. June and July are the hottest months. The maximum temperature during winter may drop to . The land is generally plain and fertile. The average annual rainfall is about 1000 mm. Over 25.82% of the population of the district is urban.
Demographics Population
As of the 2023 census, Sialkot district has 671,320 households and a population of 4,499,394. The district has a sex ratio of 102.58 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 78.37%: 80.24% for males and 76.50% for females. 1,116,259 (24.96% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 1,481,968 (32.94%) live in urban areas.
Religion
Muslims are the majority community making up 96.19% of the population, while Christians (descendants of Hindu Dalits who converted during the British Colonial period) are the principal minority.
+ Religion in contemporary Sialkot DistrictReligiousgroup194120172023 Islam 592,2363,740,50796.04% 4,302,067 96.19% Hinduism 176,9892,8700.07% 3,195 Sikhism 92,715260~0% Christianity 54,498136,2543.50% 154,884 3.46%Ahmadi14,7710.38% 11,386 0.25% Others 6,4615360.01% 668 Total Population922,8993,894,938100% 4,472,462 + Religious groups in Sialkot District (British Punjab province era)Religiousgroup1881189119011911192119311941 Islam 669,712 685,342 716,953 604,801 580,532 609,633 739,218 Hinduism 299,311 371,265 302,012 242,325 217,912 206,421 231,319 Sikhism 40,195 49,872 50,982 81,761 74,939 94,955 139,409 Christianity 1,535 11,668 11,939 48,620 62,266 66,365 75,831 Jainism 1,388 1,696 2,008 2,029 2,147 2,236 3,250 Zoroastrianism 7 4 9 17 27 7 14 Buddhism 0 0 6 0 0 0 3 Judaism 0 0 0 0 0 0 Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,453 Total population 1,012,148 1,119,847 1,083,909 979,553 937,823 979,617 1,190,497 + Religion in the Tehsils of Sialkot District (1921)TehsilIslam Hinduism Sikhism Christianity Jainism OthersTotal Sialkot Tehsil 175,385 85,711 11,679 16,195 1,472 27 290,469 Pasrur Tehsil 89,067 26,615 13,360 11,395 351 0 140,788 Zafarwal Tehsil 97,303 50,361 6,192 5,000 80 0 158,936 Raya Tehsil 119,705 29,847 29,293 17,919 172 0 196,936 Daska Tehsil 99,072 25,378 14,415 11,757 72 0 150,694 + Religion in the Tehsils of Sialkot District (1941)TehsilIslam Hinduism Sikhism Christianity Jainism OthersTotal Sialkot Tehsil 241,505 104,090 25,306 17,080 2,797 1,986 392,764 Pasrur Tehsil 166,519 44,059 26,031 13,250 110 1,455 251,424 Narowal Tehsil 146,982 54,330 46,694 19,348 240 4 267,598 Daska Tehsil 184,212 28,840 41,378 24,168 103 10 278,711
Language
At the time of the 2023 census, 92.01% of the population spoke Punjabi, 4.86% Urdu, 1.27% Mewati and 1.22% Pashto as their first language.
Educational Institutes There are one main public university and one medical college in Sialkot
Government College Women University Sialkot Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College
There are two private universities and two private medical college
University of Sialkot Grand Asian University Sialkot Islam Medical & Dental College Sialkot Medical College
Besides these institutions there are many small institution providing education in District Sialkot
Notable people
Historical figures Allama Iqbal, poet and philosopher Abdul Hakim Sialkoti, a 16th century Mughal-era Islamic scholar Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti, Islamic religious scholar and activist of Pakistan Movement Nizam al-Din 'Ishrat Sialkoti, 18th-century historian, judge, panegyrist, and a court poet of Ahmad Shah Durrani from Sialkot Faiz Ahmad Faiz,Now in Narowal District poet and scholar Syed Faiz-ul Hassan Shah, great orator, poet and pir, has been president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan Zafar Ali Khan writer, poet, and journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement Sir Fazl-i-Hussain was one of the most Influential politicians in the United Punjab Ubaidullah Sindhi pre-partition Muslim Scholar and leader Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Malhi a leading member of the Muslim League Chaudhry Sir Shahab-ud-Din Virk, lawyer and politician in pre-partition.
Military Air marshal Zafar Chaudhry was the first Chief of Air Staff General Khalid Shameem Wynne the 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Journalists and poets Kuldip Nayar, Indian journalist Amjad Islam Amjad, Urdu writer, lyricist, and poet Rajinder Singh Bedi, writer Khalid Hasan, who was born in Srinagar but studied and lived in Sialkot. Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist who was born in Sialkot Abdal Bela, Urdu writer Taufiq Rafat, a British-Pakistani poet
Politicians Gulzarilal Nanda, former acting Indian Prime Minister Akhtar Ali Vario former Provincial Minister of Punjab, Chairman District Council Sialkot Chaudhry Amir Hussain, former Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly, former acting President of Pakistan and Federal Minister of Pakistan 3 times Khawaja Muhammad Safdar, Pakistani politician and former acting President of Pakistan Syed Iftikhar Ul Hassan, Politician from Allo Mahar, re-elected several time as a Member of the National Assembly. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, politician and Federal Minister of Pakistan Firdous Ashiq Awan, former Federal Minister Choudhary Khush Akhtar Subhani, former Provincial Minister of Punjab Armaghan Subhani, Minister of State For Planning & Development, former Provincial Minister of Punjab Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan's first Foreign Minister and President of the United Nations General Assembly
Businesspersons Khawaja Masood Akhtar, businessperson Malik Riaz, Businessperson and founder of Bahria Town Usman Dar, politician and businessperson
Scholars Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema, political scientist
Artists Waheed Murad, Pakistani film actor Rajender Kumar, Indian film actor A. K. Hangal, Indian film actor Ghulam Ali, ghazal singer Bilal Saeed, a Punjabi language singer and songwriter Sportsmen Shoaib Malik, former captain of Pakistani cricket team Abdullah Shafique, Pakistani cricketer Ijaz Ahmed, cricketer, played for Pakistan national cricket team. Zaheer Abbas, Pakistani cricketer Abdul Rahman, Pakistani cricketer Shahnaz Sheikh, Pakistan national hockey team player Mansoor Amjad, Zahid Fazal, Pakistan national cricket team players. Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwean cricket player Jawaid Iqbal, Hong Kong national cricket player Nasir Ali, Pakistan national hockey team player Asif Bajwa, Pakistan national hockey team player Tariq Sheikh, Pakistan national hockey team player